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What every kitchen needs?

J

Jermes80

New member
Hello to all. I am remodeling my kitchen and starting over from scratch with every thing. What is one item you could not do without in your kitchen? Of course there is the usual items, but is there a utensil or gadget or appliance you will go for every time. Looking forward to your answers.
Jerrie
 
when I remodeled my kitchen I chose what I use in my kitchen - how I like to cook - what I want to cook on - what I needed for what I was doing -

I didn't listen to anyone - it's my kitchen - I didn't needs anyone's input

you put in what you are going to use - the appliances you are going to use - the utensils you are going to use - not someone else's ideas

I need a kitchen I can work in they way I want to - and set up my way - some of the "suggestions" I heard - were not for me - I know how I cook and that is how it should be for anyone who really cooks

I have a few friends that have very expensive kitchens with high tech everything - too bad they don't know how to turn it all on -

some kitchens need nothing more than vending machines
 
I love my basin sink. As for untensils and gadgets, Good chef's knife and cutting board, wooden spoons, silicone spatulas, good pots and pans, large stainless steel mixing bowls, a cheese grater, microplane, mini prep/stick blender, steamer rack for vegetables. The metal kind you just pop in your sauce pot and a silpat. I think that's a good start. Those are things I use constantly.
 
>>not do without?

hmmm, cooktop, oven, running water. pretty much everything else has 'alternatives' . . .

sounds silly, but past "the basics" the rest is a question of "what makes your life easier?"

I bake. Im seriously working on a spring loaded - popup cabinet doohickie for my big *ss mixer. it's heavy; then again, iffin you don't never use a big*ss mixer, not all too important, no?

deep fryer?
proofing oven?
steam injection for your bread baking oven?
(house) exhausting vent hood?
big pantry - there is no limit on the definition of "big" - more big is more better
"over the cooktop water spout" - neat if you're into pasta
'instant hot water' tap?
push top soap dispenser?
deep sink? - like 12 - 14" . . .
a spray nozzle that reaches from 'there' to 'Shebogan'
big*ss cooktop with griddle

depends, what you cook?
 
I would love to have a DEEP DEEP sink with a high faucet. I have a shallow sink with a low faucet and it's a major PITA to fill pots with water.
 
I build kitchens for a living and have to laff at some of Mama's comments. Most people I put kitchens in for just use them for show and always order out for their food., they don't even make their own coffee.
A kitchen has to be designed around ones needs, Cabinet types, space for storage. Do you bake? Pan sizes, places to store them. Do you like storing supplies? Pantry sizes. Stove types, gas, electric, commercial grades, exhaust vents styles and selections. The type of fridge that suits you and your famlies needs, Freezer space, fridge space, top mounted freezers, side by sides, Bottom freezers, drawer type freezers.... Sink types, faucet types, dish washers, garbage disposals. The list goes on and on. Then you get into layouts to also best serve your needs. Conter tops. Everyone likes the stone tops now. They are expensive and come in so many styles and colors. Working with your space and the layout will determine work space and what type of lighting you will need. Don't forget flooring. With stone counter tops, one usually goes with tile flooring, also a zillion different selections to choose from.

All the work, planning, coordinating, designing and a whole lot of aggrevation, hopefully when finished your kitchen will be exactly that, Yours.
 
I can't understand for the life of me why some put in the biggest kitchens and show off everything that they don't use. Who are they fooling? I've seen my share - and I have several friends that never even walk into their kitchens. The fridge is stocked with beer and a few microwaveable things. And they put in elaborate kitchens. total idiots - and they even brag that they don't use the room! I even have a friend that buys every kitchen gadget there is - hey - I have tons of them myself - but atleast mine get used - they aren't packed in boxes lined up down the hallway to the bedrooms like hers are. Now that is a sickness!
 
I realize everyone has ther own needs and desires. Maybe I should have phrased this as a rhetorical question. I'm so darned excited about getting a new kitchen, I just want to talk to everyone about theirs. If you could see what I've been cooking in for the last 13 years, you would know why. Thanks for everyones input.
Jerrie
 
Jerrie - there is nothing that is more enjoyable than designing your very own kitchen. But make it YOUR kitchen - reflecting on what you do - what you cook - how you cook. There is so much you can do. You'll have a ball doing it!
 
Kitchens are indeed wonderful, magical places. And for those who spend a lot of time in them, they tend to need to be places that are a.) comfy, b. well equipped and c. athstetically pleasing.

That said- I'm a minimalist. If I don't HAVE TO have an applianne or gadget, I prefer NOT to have it. I also like tools that have several multi-uses. For instance- I personally have no need ofr a garlic press- the side of my french knife smashes cloves perfectly. And my cheese knife? Also makes the perfect potato peeler. That's not to talk-down garlic presses- many have them and love them. But me? I owned 3-4 for ages and finally got rid of them when I realized I hadn't used them in years.

I always require good and plentiful lighting- and I also always enjoy a large window at the sink so I have a place other than a stark wall to look out of and daydream while I scrub pots/pans and wash dishes.

I also am an art lover. I have not only many framed prints... I also am lucky enough to have some lovely framed food watercolors painted by a very dear member here at Spice Place- as well as many framed vintage photos of those on my family tree cooking in their old-time kitchens- and I value these treasures perhaps more than any of the art throughout my modest condo.
 
I agree with everything IC said, about all I could ever dream of for my own kitchen would be counter space and plenty of it. I have yet to have a kitchen with enough counter space. Most of the kitchens I've worked on, people want to cram in every little thing they can and like IC said most of it is for show, not practicality.
 
I really think the one essential to consider is workspace. I don't care how fancy you get with a kitchen design, it's worthless if you don't have enough counterspace and a good work area like a solid table or island.
 
Mama Mangia said:
I can't understand for the life of me why some put in the biggest kitchens and show off everything that they don't use. Who are they fooling? I've seen my share - and I have several friends that never even walk into their kitchens. The fridge is stocked with beer and a few microwaveable things. And they put in elaborate kitchens. total idiots - and they even brag that they don't use the room! I even have a friend that buys every kitchen gadget there is - hey - I have tons of them myself - but atleast mine get used - they aren't packed in boxes lined up down the hallway to the bedrooms like hers are. Now that is a sickness!
Click to expand...

That is a sickness. It's called hoarding. There is even a show for it now where you can get help. What's next a show about cleptomaniacs?
 
This woman has her house so packed with boxes that are loaded that she has very thin paths to rooms - even her cellar and garage are packed - her kids and hubbie left her - and she just can't stop. When VCR's came out - she hooked up 4 TV's in her living room to tape everything she possibly could. she taped everything all day and all night - it's beyond disease - there is no help for her
 
I agree that too little space can be a problem- but for ME too much space is also bad. I've worked in kitchens of all sizes and occasionally I worked in kitchens that were huge-much bigger than they ought to have been. When cooks/chefs already work 12-18 hour days in arenas that can already be full of dangerous risks (slick/wet floors, hot surfaces, sharp knives, etc) why add to their fatigue by making them hike extra miles and cover additional acreage to run and fetch stuff? Needless!

Same- to a degree- with home kitchens.

Many folks equate space and square footage with luxury- but be careful what you wish for. While adding extra steps between your sink, your fridge and your stove can seem like a joy- surplus space- or needlessly extra distance can be burdensome, and in some cases aggrivate injury or increase risk.

Once I worked between two different logging camps- one had a huge kitchen w/ every corner a mile from the next. The other had a much smaller, better laid-out floor-plan. I suffered a knee injury and was abale to keep working with few problems when it worked out that I could be kept at the one, smaller kitchen that required me to hike around far less. If I had been kept at that second, much larger kitchen, it'd have killed my knee and probably worsened my injury and eventually may have done enough damage and caused enough pain to put me outta commission, and send me home for a while. So- extra space can be good- but there's also a fine line, there. More space doesn't always equal a good thing!
 
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Oh, I agree that poorly laid out space is not a good thing. The problem I see in most kitchens though is just not enough workspace on countertops. I wish I had room for an island so I could lay out my prep and work without having to move each item so much. The idea is usable workspace not just space.
 
James Beard said in an interview years ago that "The only absolutely essential thing I need in a kitchen is a good dog to clean up my spills,everything else is negotiable"!
 
Think back to the good old days and all those fabulous homemade meals made with just a large stock pot, a cast iron skillet, a baking sheet, a wooden spoon, one pancake turner, no measurig spoons (you used a teaspoon and soup spoon from your flatware) and you had no measuring cups - you used a coffee cup. A good sharp knife and you were all set.
 
Mama Mangia said:
Think back to the good old days and all those fabulous homemade meals made with just a large stock pot, a cast iron skillet, a baking sheet, a wooden spoon, one pancake turner, no measurig spoons (you used a teaspoon and soup spoon from your flatware) and you had no measuring cups - you used a coffee cup. A good sharp knife and you were all set.
Click to expand...

Sounds like Grandmas kitchen, but you left out the meatball pan :D Grandma had this huge skillet that as far as I've ever seen was used for frying meatballs early Sunday morning.
 
I still have "the meatball pan" and it's big enough for 2 burners! For smaller batches it was the huge cast iron pan - you just kept filling, frying, and refilling until you were done.
 
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